What a difference a day 17 months makes…..

This was us at Dimmingsdale Lock in February 2009…..
And this is us today.I know which I prefer…..

Anyway, to get here we’ve changed canals and guide books. From the Shropshire Union to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire, and from “Four Counties and the Welsh Canals” to “Severn, Avon and Birmingham”
There were a lot of boats stopping over near Bridge 8 last night, so we thought we’d better get going a bit earlier to beat the rush.

Leaving the moorings
OK, 9 o’clock isn’t early by some people’s standards, but it’s not bad by ours!

The strategy worked, we arrived at Autherley Stop Lock just as a boat was coming out, and no-one was waiting to go in.

In Autherley Stop Lock
A right turn at the Junction took us onto the Staffs and Worcs, Stourport bound.

Mini narrowboat Sarnie at Oxley Wharf

Although the canal runs alongside Wolverhampton, nothing of the town can be seen, in fact if it weren’t for the road and railway bridges you could be anywhere.
Rural bits, but railway bridge gives it away.
Compton Lock was the first lock we met today on this canal, and was also the first lock constructed by James Brindley when work commenced in the 1760’s.

Compton LockAnd it’s circular "plughole" bywash weir, a feature of this canal.
We dropped down two more, those at Wightwick, before heading down to Dimmingsdale to stop for the night. There are some 5 day moorings near the bridge, but these just above the lock on the offside are much more pleasant.

We’ll have another “early” start tomorrow, then take Sunday off. Silverstone, you know. Oh, and I think there’s a football match on somewhere, too.

This canal, like many others, has an active preservation society. The SWCS is one of the oldest in the country, having been formed in 1959. They have an informative website.

Locks 4, miles 8½

Trying to avoid the strimmers!

Arriving at Wheaton Aston yesterday.

Don’t just stand there, lend a hand paw!
We were going to get off a bit earlier today, but by the time I’d had my training run, taken Meg for a walk (avoided the seeds today!) and done a bit of shopping at the Spar tucked away near the church, it was getting on for 10:00 and traffic was starting to build up.So we decided to hang on for half an hour or so. But then we spotted the grass cutters in the distance heading towards us trimming the towpath verges.
There’ve been a few complaints this year about flying stones damaging boats, but these guys were being very careful, not strimming or even mowing alongside moored boats.
But we thought we’d make their life easier and get out of the way.

Turner’s Wharf has a splendid new concrete surface. You still have to put the hose in an old oil can, though.
With all the boats buzzing about it was a bit chaotic on the water point, but we got sorted and joined a 3 boat queue for the lock.

"If you go that way, then I can go this way..."
With waiting crews helping boats through, progress was good and we were on our way only an hour after pulling off the mooring.We got off the water point just ahead of the grass cutters, only to be caught up again as we waited for the lock.

Floral displays from the Long-Term moorers above the lock
Probably not “Moving On” any time soon – that’s his engine on the counter!
We’d had some early showers, hardly enough to wet the ground, but by lunchtime the sky had cleared and it was a fine afternoon.

Over Watling Street (the A5) on another of Telford’s aqueducts.
Brewood (pronounced “Brood”) is another popular stop over, it’s just a pity the villages around here are built on rising ground, which means the canal runs in a cutting.

Brewood Moorings
We saw our first kingfisher this year just south of the village, but my hasty shots were blurred or out of focus (or both). Shame, one of them caught him just coming out of the water after a failed strike. The harsh winter has really knocked their numbers down. I hope the next isn’t so icy, to give them a chance to recover.

Avenue Bridge is ornately balustraded.This bridge carried the carriage road to Chillington Hall, 1¾ miles away. The decoration was insisted upon by the owner of the hall as a condition of the canal passing through his grounds.
There are other examples of this type of agreement. Tixall Wide at the top of the Staffs and Worcester near Great Heywood was also created so that the canal looked less artificial and more like a natural feature.

We pulled over just south of Bridge 8. This is a good mooring, with rings, but we stopped short. Why? Those grass cutters were here, they'd beaten us to it!

Isn't it great when you've got a decent internet connection. 3G here!

Locks 1, miles 5

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Wheaton Aston

Just a short post tonight. We’re in Wheaton Aston, in the cutting between the bridges and the internet connection is very poor.

I got the poles and plank finished yesterday while we were moored at Little Onn. They look a lot better now.

Meg and I had a couple of good long walks across the fields, although one particular pasture full of bullocks was a bit fraught. I wonder why they’re so curious? They all came charging over to inspect the interlopers, scaring Meg half to death. Got my heart-rate up a bit, too!

Then this morning we followed an overgrown path around a field, having to push through this year’s grass, nettles and weeds. When we got back we had to spend an hour combing hundreds of those little round hairy seeds out of her coat. She was covered in them. There’s still a few left, but they’ll come out in normal grooming.

We left this morning, not much before lunchtime, heading to Wheaton Aston. The mail should be here waiting for us, so I went up to the Post Office after having a cup of tea.
Should have skipped the refreshments and gone up as soon as we arrived; it’s half day closing today.
I guess it’ll still be there tomorrow.

Locks 0, miles 2

More meetings

I’ve been a busy bee this weekend. I got all the right side of the cabin cut and polished, tidied up the anchor, chain and warp, rubbed down and primed the boarding plank and boat hook shaft and still had time for my training runs and long walks with Meg.

Looking down the old Newport Branch.It only runs to the first lock, now. It used to go down to Newport, and then on to the Shrewsbury Canal at Wappenshall Junction, dropping through 23 locks in the 9½ mile distance.It connected to a network of smaller canals, including the Shrewsbury, built to move coal and iron from the Shropshire coalfields.

Across a couple of fields from the junction there’s an unassuming stone built platform surrounded by a moat.

Foundations
This is the foundation of the grand 13C Norbury Manor. After passing through the hands of several owners the house was bought by the Anson family of Shugborough Hall. By this time the structure was seriously dilapidated and was demolished in the 18C, a lot of the stone finishing up in the walls of Norbury Manor Farm.

The stonework of the moat is in surprisingly good condition.
Malcolm and Barbara on NB Pilgrim arrived yesterday afternoon, with friends Michael and Angela on tug Levick. I was hoping they’d catch up, I wanted to hear all about their trip from Liverpool Docks, across the Mersey estuary, and back onto the canals at the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port.
It’s something I fancy doing, following it with a trip over the Ribble estuary on the Millennium Ribble Link to the Lancaster Canal. I’ve just got to convince the skipper….

I caught Pilgim and Levick filling with diesel this morning before they headed off south.

Levick, with Pilgrim in the background.We followed an hour or so later, after filling with fuel ourselves then going across to the service point for water.

Leaving Norbury Junction
We had a very pleasant cruise, just above tick-over, enjoying the fine weather and the scenery.

Boat Inn, Gnosall
Keeping an eye on the kids.

Cowley TunnelNow only 81 yards long, this tunnel should have been longer but the unstable rock at the south end proved too difficult so it was opened out, leaving a long rock-lined cutting.
The tunnel bore is unlined, apart from a short section of stonework at the southern portal.
Cowley Tunnel, south, and the cutting. Typical SU cruising, near Church Eaton
Whoops! Grammatically incorrect, but the message is clear.
We pulled over at Little Onn Bridge, a couple of miles north of Wheaton Aston.

Moored at Little Onn
It’s a popular spot here, a good edge without the notorious “Shroppie Shelf” sticking out below water level. We’ll stay here tomorrow, by Wednesday our mail should have arrived at the Post Office in Wheaton Aston, and we can make tracks to Stourport.

Locks 0, miles 5½

Embankments and Cuttings

We had some pretty heavy showers overnight. It’s a lot fresher today, much more pleasant. A gentle breeze from the north helps as well.

The rain is much needed, not least for the canal reservoirs. After last year’s floods this year we’ve drought restrictions on the Leeds and Liverpool in the north to the Gloucester and Sharpness in the south.
Two boats each way per day across the Rochdale Canal’s summit is going to seriously screw up some peoples cruising plans.

Goldstone Wharf
We’ve still got water here in the midlands, though. We got away this morning around 10, heading for Norbury. Lots of boats around in either direction. With our normal cruising speed of 2½ MPH and tickover past moorings, we were soon leader of a line of 4 boats. Still, if you’re in a hurry you’ve chosen the wrong mode of transport!

We let 2 or 3 go past, and others pulled in for a lunchtime pint at the Anchor at High Offley while we plodded on, enjoying the scenery.

Long lines of moored craft made for slow cruising.Shebdon Embankment carries the canal over a valley near Knighton.

There was a Cadbury’s dairy here, making use of the extensive supply of milk from the surrounding lush pastures. Cadbury’s used the canal to ship products from here to it’s main factory in Bournville, Birmingham.



Cadbury Wharf, Knighton.
On Shebdon Embankment.

The rolling landscape means that after the embankment the canal dives into another cutting, this time the delightfully named Grub Street.

Grub Street Cutting. Just been overtaken...again!Grub Street itself crosses the cutting over Lambarts Bridge.

I wonder if anyone cruises through this cutting without taking a picture of High Bridge, with it’s stumpy telegraph pole in the split arch.

I don’t!
A mile from the cutting we pulled in near Norbury Junction, we’ll stay here for a couple of days now, let the weekenders have the water.

Locks 0, miles 7½

Fleeting meeting….

We were expecting to meet up with friends Derek and Gloria on NB Completely Foxed in the next couple of days. They are going north while we’re heading south. But it was a bit of a surprise to see them toddling past us at just after 9 this morning.
They pulled in on the services and I went to have a chat. Jake the dog has been poorly, so they came to Market Drayton earlier than planned to get him to the vet. Typically, though, he’s a lot better this morning. It was probably something he ate which didn’t agree, and has now passed through the system.
We spent the morning chatting and catching up. They were maybe going to join us on our trip south, but commitments later in the year have prevented this. Maybe next time.

Then around noon we took our leave, heading about a mile to the 5 locks at Tyrley. These start in a rock cutting and climb out into open fields.

Gloomy location of Tyrley Bottom Lock
There was a bit of confusion in the first pound going up. There were 3 boats up there, waiting for the second lock, the first 2 of which were hard aground in the shallows at the edges.
So the boat in front and us waited till they sorted themselves out before heading up.
Once we got going we didn’t do too badly, but overall it took nearly 2 hours from bottom to top. We did 13 of the 15 Audlem Locks the other day in the same time!

Leaving Tyrley Top Lock, Tyrley Wharf on the right.
Shortly after the locks we entered the deep cutting at Woodseaves. This 50 foot deep gash was driven ¾ of a mile through rock and soil by hand, the actual channel of necessity being narrow. But at least it’s dead straight.

The appropriately named High Bridge.
This and Holling’s Bridge cross the man-made gorge and wouldn’t have been cheap to construct, although I guess the material would have been handy. The odd thing is that High Bridge doesn’t seem to connect anything to anything, and Holling’s only carries a track, an alternative route via a C road is available.

Bridges to nowhere particular.

The cutting looking back
It is reputed to be haunted, difficult to believe with the sunlight slanting through the trees. But in the dark of a winter’s evening….

We pulled in at Goldstone Wharf a little further on. We’d intended going a bit further, but it was nearly 4 o’clock, a lot later than our normal finish time.

The trip that Derek and Gloria did first thing this morning in 2 hours had us taken nearly 4 this afternoon. Ah, the joys of summer cruising.

Locks 5, miles 3½

A lazy day to Market Drayton.

Had a day against the bank yesterday. Got a bit more done on the left cabin side, easier now I’ve got that old polisher going. But it’s still going to take time. I would have done some more today, but the towpath has switched sides for a bit so I have had to make do with giving the right side a wash instead.
Quite a few boats on the move, though most seem to be going south at the moment.

I had a walk around Audlem, a pleasant village with good amenities and an impressive church.

St James' Church, AudlemThe sandstone building dates from the late 13th and early 14th centuries, and is Grade 1 listed.

Inspection Launch Lady Hatherton built in 1898
We had a family of moorhens in the reeds opposite, and they regularly came across for something to eat. The chicks, even though they were well grown and capable of feeding themselves, still preferred mum to provide.

Typical teenager…..We had the 2 top locks of the Audlem flight to climb just around the corner, so waited for a boat coming down so they were ready for us.

Audlem Top Lock

Then we had a very pleasant, gentle cruise to the next group of locks at Adderley.

Adderley Bottom Lock, No 5.
We weren’t as lucky on this flight as we were at Audlem the other day. We arrived directly behind another boat and there were none coming down, so each chamber had to be emptied before we could use it.
Still, it wasn’t too much of a hardship and we were at the top in an hour.

Two boats arrived to go down just as we arrived, so they would have had an easy run down.
We picked up a dozen fresh free range eggs from the smallholding alongside the lock. On the Audlem locks we bought a punnet of fresh gooseberries the same way, just an honesty box to put your money in. They were good in a crumble.

After leaving Adderley we had an enjoyable 3 mile trip to Market Drayton, arriving at just after noon.

Cruising towards Market Drayton

We filled and emptied the tanks as required and then found a spot on the 2 day moorings by Bridge 62, before I toddled off into town to fill up the larder.

Moored near Bridge 62.
It’s pretty busy here, both on and off the water, but we’re only stopping the one night.

Steve on NB Just Heaven came across my scribblings yesterday and left a comment on a post from February last year. A photo I took shows their boat on the canal near Kinver. I dug it out but unfortunately I’d the camera set on low res so can’t enlarge and crop the photo how I'd like.
Might get another chance on this trip, Steve.
However, they've just been down onto the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, which is where we're bound, so their blog is a useful source of info for us.

Locks 7, miles 5

Don't forget....
I’m running the Great North Run for Cancer Research UK. Please sponsor me!